Magnetic sensing devices, such as Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors, for example, are used in a wide variety of applications. For example, GMR sensors are often used for sensing the angular position of a rotating shaft. In such applications, a permanent magnet, sometimes referred to as a “pill”, can be mounted to an end of a steering shaft and centered on the shaft's axis of rotation. The GMR elements or resistors, which are typically connected to form one or more bridges, are also positioned so as to be centered on the axis of rotation, with the resulting output signals generated by the GMR resistors being indicative of the angular position of the rotating shaft. However, as the inventors have appreciated, in many applications it is inefficient to mount the GMR sensors on at the end of the shaft on its axis of rotation, due to space limitations. For example, in vehicles, the end of a steering shaft typically has a to a knuckle assembly attached thereto, and there is no practical way of mounting a GMR sensor on the steering shaft's axis of rotation because the knuckle assembly impedes such a configuration.
Therefore, improved angle sensing techniques are needed.